Finding righteous currents in turbulent times

Archive for the tag “alcohol”

We all know bootleggers and Baptists rarely see eye to eye. Ask one group and its members will probably tell you they despise the other group. Yet, when it comes to government regulation, both bootleggers and Baptists work together. Prof. Bruce Yandle explains that this happens because both groups actually desire the same outcome. The Baptists benefit, for example, from laws that make the sale of alcoholic beverages illegal on Sundays. Bootleggers benefit because now they can sell alcohol on Sundays.

What About Drinking, brought to us by the Prelinger Archive, is an educational film created at the Center of Alcohol Studies at Yale University in 1954. It centers on a group of teenagers, whose party is interrupted with news of a car accident: Bob and Ted hit a pedestrian while driving, and police found a bottle of alcohol in the car.

VICE correspondent Jordan Redaelli heads to a tiny Romanian village in the foothills of the Carpathians to hang out with the Cazan family, master brewers of a fiery tequila-like drink called palinka. There he samples the 70-proof hooch, visits a Gypsy disco, and attempts to mix up a palinka based punch for an impromptu post-church party, Romanian-style.

In La Paz, Bolivia, Vice correspondent Jordan Redaelli meets a pair of female wrestlers (Cholitas) who like to beat each other up for the fun of it. He’s also introduced to the world’s strongest alcohol, the 96% Caiman liquor – or ‘firewater’ as it’s known to the locals. After the big grudge match Jordan attempts to make a drinkable cocktail out of the potent brew, hoping it’ll restore some peace between the fiery combatants in the process.

VICE correspondent Jordan Redaelli travels to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to learn about an indigenous drink called poyo. Poyo is said to hold mystical properties, bestowing money, power and fierce erections to those who drink it. Later, Redaelli hits the beach to mix up a poyo-infused cocktail.

Saint Patrick’s Day is this Sunday, and there are many ways to celebrate like Irish soda bread at breakfast or corned beef and cabbage for dinner. For those celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with green beer, moderation is key. Alcohol has several negative effects on your body — many of which can amount to a miserable morning after. H/T Bytesize Science

Members of the night shift at Chivas Brothers distillery in Scotland accidentally spilled 18,000 liters of whiskey down the drain. That’s the equivalent of roughly 6,000 gallons, worth well over $600,000 on the retail market. No word on whether the errant workers had been imbibing.

As spring approaches, we anticipate the fluttering butterflies and the capering baby lambs, but we can also expect to see some birds hammered out of their minds in the trees, and perhaps rolling on the ground. In most cases, says Hank Green, these birds have overindulged in the fermented berries and other fruits that froze during the winter and are now thawing – proving an irresistible treat for many kinds of birds. H/T The SciShow

Maker’s Mark, a bourbon whiskey drink distilled by Bean, Inc., will stay at the 90-proof level. The company initially revealed plans to drop down to 84-proof, due to predicted supply shortages, but later reversed course after customers cried foul. H/T Next Media Animation